California Heat Pump Rebates in 2026: What's Actually Funded This Year

Program status on this page last verified July 18, 2026.

The rebate landscape changed quickly between late 2024 and early 2026. Two of the largest programs Bay Area contractors used to layer onto heat pump installs are no longer accepting applications. The active stack is smaller now and the math looks different. Here is what is actually paying out in 2026.

Programs that closed

The federal Section 25C credit expired on December 31, 2025. It used to pay up to $2,000 per qualifying heat pump. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, eliminated it for air-source heat pumps installed on or after January 1, 2026. Section 25D for geothermal was also eliminated by the same legislation for installs placed in service after December 31, 2025. Geothermal is a different scope of work that we do not install.

Tech Clean California was the largest single program in the Bay Area at its peak. The market-rate tier paid significantly on whole-home ducted heat pumps. It hit its funding cap on November 14, 2025 and went on full waitlist. New single-family applications are still not being accepted as of July 2026. The program could reopen if the state legislature funds it again. We will update this page when that happens.

The Bay Area Air District’s Clean HEET program is the newest name on this list. It paid $3,000 to $6,500 toward a heat pump that replaces an operational wood or pellet stove, insert, or open-hearth fireplace, with a $4,000 plus-up for income-qualified households and up to $3,000 more for a second device in the same home. Two things about it worth knowing even now. First, the application window for this round closed on July 14, 2026. Second, the program requires a Notice to Proceed from the Air District before any work starts and pays nothing retroactively, so a contractor who starts the job first and promises the rebate after is costing you the money. If the District funds another round, we will update this page, and we handle the Notice to Proceed timing as part of the install.

If a contractor’s website or estimate still lists Tech Clean California, the federal 25C credit, or an open Clean HEET window in a 2026 rebate stack, that copy is stale. Ask them to verify program status in writing before you sign.

White Fence House Call — our van where this work actually happens, on a quiet street in the valley.

What we work with in 2026

We participate in BayREN Home+, MCE, PG&E, Ava Community Energy (formerly EBCE), Silicon Valley Clean Energy, Peninsula Clean Energy, and manufacturer instant rebate programs. Eligibility, dollar amounts, and program funding vary across these, some run on annual cycles with limited budgets, some shift quarter to quarter. If you want to browse every California program yourself, the state’s Switch Is On incentive finder is the best single directory. The honest answer to “how much will I get back?” is still “let us check before we quote.” Here is the short version of each.

BayREN Home+

The Bay Area Regional Energy Network runs its Home+ heat pump and electrification incentives in funded cycles. Budgets are limited; the application window is sometimes open and sometimes paused while the next cycle is funded. Dollar amounts shift cycle to cycle, so we won’t print a figure here that could be wrong by the time you read it. When applications are accepted, we submit on your behalf. We won’t promise a BayREN figure on a quote unless the cycle is actually open at the time we write it.

MCE Heat Pump HVAC

MCE Clean Energy runs the strongest active rebate in our service area. As of July 2026 it pays up to $400 per 500 square feet of home for a heat pump heating and cooling system, plus a $2,000 bonus rebate. MCE’s own example: up to $3,200 on a typical 1,500 square foot home. The requirements:

1. Your home has to be on MCE service. MCE covers Marin County, Napa County, parts of Contra Costa County (San Ramon, Walnut Creek, Concord, Lafayette, and others), parts of Solano County, and pieces of additional counties. Your utility bill will tell you whether you are on MCE or default PG&E generation.
2. You need to have owned and lived in the home for at least 12 months.
3. The contractor has to be on MCE’s participating contractor list. We are. We file the application as part of the install.

One condition people miss: MCE requires that you not install other electrification projects (solar, battery storage, or EV charging) for 12 months after the heat pump is completed. If you’re planning solar soon, tell us at the estimate so we can sequence the projects sensibly. We confirm the current amounts and territory rules when we write your estimate.

PG&E utility rebates

PG&E rebates change by quarter. The most reliable one in 2026 is a smart thermostat rebate when an eligible model goes in with the system. Heat-pump-specific rebates open and close as PG&E cycles funding. We check what is current at quote time.

Ava Community Energy (formerly EBCE)

If your home is in Ava territory (Oakland, Berkeley, Fremont, Hayward, Dublin, Pleasanton, San Leandro, Newark, Union City, Livermore, and other Alameda County cities), additional heat pump and electrification rebates may apply. Ava’s programs shift over time and amounts vary, so we verify what is open when we write your estimate.

We get asked about heat pump rebates in Dublin specifically often, since Dublin sits in Ava territory rather than MCE. The stack there is Ava plus PG&E’s thermostat rebate plus manufacturer instant rebates when a promo is running, confirmed at quote time.

Silicon Valley Clean Energy (South Bay)

If your home is in Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Los Altos, Cupertino, Saratoga, Los Gatos, or Milpitas, your generation provider is Silicon Valley Clean Energy, and it runs the most active rebate program in the South Bay right now. SVCE’s home rebates pay out on qualifying heat pump HVAC and water heater upgrades, with a larger income-qualified tier on top, and several member cities add their own city-funded bonuses through the same application. The amounts differ by city, scope, and income tier, and they change midyear, so we confirm the current figure for your address at the estimate rather than print one here that goes stale.

Two addresses that trip people up: San Jose is not SVCE, it has its own San Jose Clean Energy programs, and the city of Santa Clara runs municipal Silicon Valley Power rebates. Same valley, three different programs. We sort out which one your address is actually on.

Peninsula Clean Energy (San Mateo County)

San Mateo County towns we serve, including Woodside, Portola Valley, Atherton, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Burlingame, and Millbrae, are on Peninsula Clean Energy. PCE pays up to $2,500 toward a heat pump HVAC system, adds bonus rebates for households enrolled in CARE or FERA, and runs zero-percent financing for electrification work. As with the others, we verify the current terms for your address when we write the estimate.

Manufacturer instant rebates

Daikin, Bryant, Carrier, and Cooper & Hunter run seasonal instant rebates that come off the equipment cost at the distributor. Amounts depend on brand, tier, and the current promo cycle. These do not require any paperwork on your side.

HEEHRA (income-qualified)

The High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act pays point-of-sale rebates for households below 80% of Area Median Income. California’s allocation has been heavily subscribed. Single-family rebates have been fully reserved statewide since February 24, 2026, and as of July 2026 new reservations go to a waitlist, similar to Tech Clean CA. We note this in estimates when it comes up; if the program reopens we will update this page. If your household may qualify, we check current status before we write the estimate.

What the 2026 stack actually looks like

The 2024 version of a typical Bay Area heat pump install used to layer Tech Clean California, BayREN, federal 25C, and a utility rebate together. That math is no longer available, two of those four are closed.

In 2026, what’s left depends entirely on your address and the current program cycles. Inside MCE territory with an eligible heat pump system and a manufacturer promo running, the stack can still be meaningful; the MCE rebate alone runs up to $3,200 on MCE’s typical-home example. In SVCE territory the combination of the base rebate, the income-qualified tier, and a city bonus can be the strongest stack in our whole service area this year. Outside those territories or in a quiet program quarter, it’s lighter. Beyond the MCE figures published above, amounts vary by cycle and we don’t print numbers we can’t stand behind; we verify eligibility on every estimate.

Why the contractor matters

For MCE specifically, the contractor has to be a registered participating contractor or the rebate does not get filed. PG&E, BayREN, and manufacturer rebates also require contractor paperwork. We submit every applicable rebate as part of the install, that is built into the install price, not an add-on.

What we won’t quote

If a competitor’s estimate lists Tech Clean California or federal 25C as part of your 2026 rebate stack, ask them to verify the program status before signing. Those two are not paying out new applications right now. We do not quote what we cannot deliver.

Key takeaways

• Federal Section 25C expired December 31, 2025. Zero federal credit for 2026 installs.
• Tech Clean California ran out of funding November 14, 2025 and is on full waitlist.
• BayREN Home+ runs heat pump programs in funded cycles; budgets are limited and we submit when applications are open.
• MCE's current heat pump HVAC rebate pays up to $400 per 500 square feet of home plus a $2,000 bonus; a participating contractor is required and we are one.
• PG&E, Ava Community Energy (formerly EBCE), and manufacturer instant rebates round out the active stack. Eligibility varies by territory and quarter.
• The Air District's Clean HEET program (heat pump in place of a wood stove or fireplace, $3,000–$6,500 base) closed its application window July 14, 2026. We track the next round.
• South Bay homes on Silicon Valley Clean Energy and San Mateo County homes on Peninsula Clean Energy have their own active rebates, separate from the East Bay stack.

Related questions

Written by Andrew Kuznetsov. Andrew is the founder and owner of Bay Area HVAC Service (ADRIUM Service Solutions). He holds a California Contractor License (CSLB #1136642), EPA 608 certification, and completed factory training at the Daikin/Goodman plant in Houston in 2025. He writes from direct field experience, not marketing copy.

Further reading

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• Furnace Making Noise: What Banging, Humming, and Clicking Mean Before, During, and After a Cycle , A furnace ticking or popping after it shuts off is almost always the ductwork and heat exchanger cooling down, normal and not a problem. This breaks down what each noise means by when you hear it, what a tech actually checks, and where the safe homeowner checks end.
• AC Not Cooling on the First Hot Weekend: What to Do , A safe first-hot-weekend triage for thermostat, airflow, condensate, electrical, refrigerant, and compressor clues without a same-day promise.